Everybody Needs A Friend
by Tie-grr
Summary: Inspired by my story Crash Landing, reviving an old pairing of mine for one last outing.  Severus is hurt.. Who will be there to help him?
1. Chapter 1

_A one off! I don't do this pairing anymore, so consider yourselves lucky :P_

Why was it so quiet? It was never quiet.. Never. Perhaps nobody was there? Merlin, how he hoped nobody was around. He didn't need help, he didn't need pity he just needed rest. Rest, yes, that was it. To just lie down, close his eyes and let the darkness envelope him for a few precious hours. He barely ever got any peace and quiet anymore, life was far too hectic. It wasn't like he spent much time asleep, but now it was all he craved.

Severus Snape leant most of his weight on the wall to his left as he surveyed the corridor before him. Number 12 Grimmauld Place had a very narrow entrance; it was a nuisance to all who tried to get through it. Sort of like a traffic jam if people were to try and pass each other. And that damned stand didn't help. But the small width made the passage look that much longer. It was daunting, the metres just stretched out before him and for a fleeting moment he felt like he wouldn't make it another step, let alone to the kitchen and the much needed firewhiskey. Firewhiskey would fix everything.

But no, he had to be quick because he didn't want anybody to find him. He just needed to grab some supplies and hide away in one of the many rooms, the other Order members wouldn't even know he was there. The last thing he needed was Sirius finding him; an argument with that insufferable oaf would not do much to improve his mood, nor his current condition.

After so many years he was used to pain, but The Dark Lord had been particularly cruel to his followers tonight. Snape had always been under suspicion of being disloyal by many of his fellow Death Eaters; and as a consequence took most of the more brutal beatings. The first place he had thought of was Hogwarts, his own quarters, but he couldn't apparate in and he knew that he wouldn't be able to climb the grounds by himself. And he _hated_ taking help from others. Now he was afraid he may need it. Number twelve had been a last resort of a kind, the only place he could reach quickly. He had to take the risk that someone might find him.

Taking in a deep, painful breath he pushed himself upright and started towards the kitchen. He must have only made it four steps before sounds on the landing above caused him to pause. He had no idea who it was, how many people were there, all he knew was that there was at least one person on their way down. He stared at the bottom of the staircase, glaring at that bottom step as if he could make it turn into a bottomless bit for the owner of the increasingly louder footfall to fall into. No such luck. He resigned himself to his fate as feet came into view, slumping against the wall he allowed his eyes to close.

_Please not Black, please not Black..._


	2. Chapter 2

"Severus?" His first name sounded strange to her ears, spoken in her own voice. Talk about a surprise. She hadn't expected anybody to be awake; she definitely hadn't expected her former Potions Master to be standing in the hallway. She was new to the Order but she knew that he was also a member, she just hadn't seen him here before. "You're hurt."

"Pointing out the obvious." His usual drawl was less effective as his voice was strained. She rolled her eyes at his typical response, seems he certainly hadn't changed since her years at Hogwarts. It didn't put her off though. Her eyes travelled over him, taking in the way he was stood and the way he clutched his side. But what was most worrying was that blood on the side of his face. She took a step forwards and he took one back, pressing his back against the wall. Mature.

"Will you let me help you?" He scoffed so she rephrased. "I'm helping you."

It took a surprising amount of effort to get the man into the kitchen and finally off his feet. He wasn't able to walk too well and, as it turned out, he wasn't as slim as he looked. Those billowing black robes hid a surprisingly well built and heavy body. But now wasn't the time to think about that, or enjoy the feeling of firm muscles under her arm. This man was injured.

He watched her through those ebony eyes as she looked over him, checking where that line of blood went, but she didn't mind it. She was too busy trying to find the source of the dried blood. She gently touched his cheek and turned his face, the light falling onto the side of his face. He winced and closed his eyes. He had a terrible headache.

There was silence as Tonks played nurse, cleaning up his face with a damp cloth from the sink and healing the wound on his head. She was actually surprised that he let her do it; spells hadn't been her strong suit when she was a student. Nothing had been really. But he stayed quiet and allowed her to work without criticism or complaint. Though he did watch her. Every movement she made his eyes followed. At first she found it annoying but quickly relaxed under his gaze.

"I'm done here.. Does your side hurt?" He stared at her before slowly nodding. "Let me see?"

That was the moment it went wrong. He glared at her. "I'd rather not strip in front of you, surprisingly."

Venom literally dripped off his words and he stood up abruptly. That proved to be a mistake as he swayed and swore under his breath, having to sit back down again. Tonks simply watched on as if this proved her point. He glowered death at her and snorted. His long fingers deftly undid the long line of buttons on his overcoat and he slowly stood to remove it. His eyes were on his feet as he undid his waistcoat, removed his neckerchief and undid his shirt.

Tonks had never been in this sort of situation with this man before but she could have sworn he was shy. He hesitated before he removed the shirt entirely. His side was an angry purple, the bruising ran from armpit to waistband. She was surprised she didn't gasp aloud. It looked painful, how was he even breathing evenly? Although it hurt he remained standing, his hand resting on the table to keep him steady. She carefully examined his side, refraining from touching him. She didn't want to hurt him, although she may have done when she was a student.

She frowned when she caught a glimpse of something shining on his back, reflecting the dim light. Rounding him she noticed all of the scars that littered his back. This time she did gasp. "Severus?"


	3. Chapter 3

This was exactly why he didn't want to strip; some things were best kept hidden. Even with such low light in the room he knew every single scar could be seen. He felt that they just helped to make him hideous. He nearly leapt out of his own skin when, after a long period of silence, he felt her fingers touch his body. Her slender fingers slowly traced the longer marks, one spread across almost half of his back. She wasn't quite thinking about what she was doing, if she had been she probably wouldn't have touched him. But for some strange reason she hadn't been able to resist. His skin was warm under her fingers and soft between the scars.

"What happened?" She asked quietly before she'd even realised she'd spoken.

He didn't give her an answer straight away, hoping that she would just realise that she had made a foolish mistake asking such a question. Perhaps she would then get embarrassed and just leave him alone? Unlikely. And he didn't have the energy to yell at her right now. "Just get on with it."

Realising her place she apologised and pulled back. It felt like she hadn't even been in her own body, what in Merlin's name had possessed her to do that? She should consider herself lucky that he was too weak and too tired to do much about it. Her temporary insanity was forgotten as she attended her task, but her eyes kept wandering.

She was supposed to be concentrating on that nasty bruise restricting his breathing and movement but she couldn't help looking at all this skin on show to her. His body wasn't what she had expected.

As a school girl it was common place to tease the girls who had crushes on a teacher, (which in Hogwarts were pretty few and far between). The main object of teenage affections around that time, even to this day, was the dark Potions Master. He wasn't much older than the seventh years when Tonks was in school and he had the mysterious ex-Death Eater air about him. Prime crushing material. Girls of all houses would huddle in their dorm rooms at night, giggling as they fantasized about everybody's favourite ex-death eater. As Rolanda Hooch once announced to her friends, he has a nice bum.

"His voice is pure heaven."

"Those eyes, you could lose yourself in those onyx orbs."

"I bet he's got muscles under those robes."

"You know what they say about men with big noses.."

All of these things were true so far. Well, except for the last as she couldn't vouch for that. And thinking about it, well, it certainly made her blush. After more hesitation and another look from the annoyed Professor she started to heal the bruise. And he watched her the entire time.

_Hmm, not the best.. But something! :P_


End file.
